. >>> now over to japan, where election timing may spell budget delays. we have the story from tokyo. >> the election campaign has officially kicked off in japan, but there are worries the budget is not likely to be ready pi the end of this year. they will likely call a special session to elect a new prime minister, then select a cabinet before moving on to budget matters. once they reconvene in january, the new government would likely pass the supplementary budget first before submitting its fiscal 2013 plan in february. so a senior lawmaker predicts that the fiscal 2013 budget will not actually pass until mid may. that's more than a month into the new fiscal year. and if the government can't get the job done by the end of march, a provisional budget will be needed. opinion polls show the gap between the ldp and the ruling democratic party has been narrowing. that means if the ldp can't get their majority, these bills could be delayed even more. back to you, ross. >> all right, thanks for that. that's the late fres the nikkei. still to come, the business